Page 41 - Simply Veg Issue 1 2016

Seeds that can be sown outside this month are radish, carrots, lettuce, spinach, rocket, broad beans, round peas (these are hardier than wrinkled peas), and brassicas. Broad beans and peas are of course large enough to sow individually, broad beans about 9 inches (22.5cm) apart and peas 2 inches (15cm) apart. The rest are sown thinly in shallow drills and thinned out in stages
to their nal spacing
when the seeds
germinate. However,
I prefer to sow lettuce
in cell trays and
brassicas and peas in
small pots and plant
them out from there.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, aubergines and celery can still be sown this month in the greenhouse if they weren’t done last month. Celeriac can also be sown in small pots or cell trays to plant out later.
Many sweet pea growers sow their seeds in the autumn but I sow mine this month. I sow them individually in vending machine
cups in the greenhouse then harden them off before planting. They can be sown direct in the ground but this is the way I prefer to sow them.
If you put your chrysanth stools and dahlia tubers on a heated bench or in a propagator last month they will probably have grown enough for you to take your rst cuttings. Any proprietary seed or multipurpose compost
Potatoes chitting on greenhouse shelf
done assuming you have prepared the bed and added fertiliser. Plant them 12 inches (30cm) apart in rows 18 inches (45cm) apart in trenches 6 inches (15cm) deep. I don’t plant mine till April and I put lawn clippings in the trenches which help to combat scab disease. These probably won’t be available if planting is done this month.
Many half hardy annual owers can
be sown in the greenhouse this month.
I mentioned before the importance of owers in the vegetable garden to attract bene cial insects. The types I am thinking about are cosmos, stocks, nicotiana, rudbeckia, marigolds, antirrhinums, zinnias and helichrysum but there are many more. Sow them thinly in trays or half trays of seed or multipurpose compost. I cover mine
with sheets of glass and newspaper until the seeds germinate when they have to be removed.
Crops that may be ready for harvesting this month are broccoli, celeriac, kale and spring cabbages.
will do. The cuttings should be about 2 or 3 inches long (5 to 7cms) and cut just below a leaf joint and then put in trays or small pots.
Onion sets if available can be planted this month.
Depending where you live it may be too
early to plant them outside unless you have warmed up the soil using cloches but they can be started off in pots in the greenhouse. I prefer to plant them this way anyway even if I don’t plant them till April.
The rst planting of early potatoes can be
The first planting of early potatoes can be done
Sprouting broccoli growing well
Tomatoes ready for potting up
simplyvegetables 41